Most modern buildings are built with heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems that have many sensors, fans, values, and actuators. Many of these devices are controlled by a microcontroller or microprocessor located in field panels. The programming of each panel is often unique based upon the different devices coupled to the panel. The initial provisioning of a HVAC system takes multiple hours to layout the design, develop the programming for the panels and other programmable devices, program the devices, tweak the devices, and test the devices and programs. It takes many hours, if not days to properly commission an HVAC system and takes many months to properly train technicians how configure and program HVAC systems. Thus, the commissioning and debugging of an HVAC system is often part of an estimate for selling the components that make up the system.
Current approaches at automating configuration of HVAC systems and other systems have mixed results with all of them failing to provide complete configurations. This failing is due to the two-dimensional configuration approaches that have been employed. Two-dimensional approaches only have knowledge of potential elements and parameters of a system, such as an HVAC system. But in practice additional dependencies and interactions are considerations that have to be taken into account when programming HVAC systems.
In view of the foregoing, there is an ongoing need for systems, apparatuses and methods for reducing the commissioning time of an HVAC system while reducing human errors that occur when commissioning the HVAC system while considering additional provisioning interactions that are not possible in a two-dimensional approach.